Let the meat rest for
at least 30 minutes before serving, or hold in an empty cooler for 2-4
hours.

Separate the flat and
point portions, and slice the flat across the grain 1/4" - 3/8" thick.

Brisket after midnight in the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker

Finished beef brisket flat section

On September 1-2, 2000 I
attempted my first nighttime brisket cook on the WSM. The prep began the afternoon
of September 1 and the cooking started
after midnight on September 2. Overnight cooking works well with brisket, since you can time things
so that
the meat is finished around the time you want to serve it for lunch...or
maybe even breakfast!

Despite cool night
temperatures and some drizzle, the Weber Bullet provided almost
13 hours of consistent heat, due to its efficient design and the use of
the Minion Method for firing the cooker. You can learn more about the
Minion Method on the Firing Up Your Weber Bullet
page.

Remember...click
on any of the pictures to view a larger image.

Prepping
The Briskets

Photo 1

I purchased two whole
untrimmed briskets in Cryovac from a local butcher shop. One was USDA
Choice and weighed 11.11 pounds, the other was USDA Choice CAB (Certified
Angus Beef) and weighed 10.22 pounds.

At 4:30pm on
September 1, I prepped both briskets identically. I cut away the thick
fat around the edges; removed some, but not all, of the fat between
the flat and point sections; and trimmed the fat
side, leaving a 1/8"-1/4" layer of fat.

Mixing
And Applying The Rub

Photo 2

Nothing
fancy here, just a simple rub applied to both briskets. The recipe
below made enough to provide a generous dusting to both briskets.

Each
rubbed brisket was folded over on itself and stuffed into a 2 gallon
Ziploc bag. The briskets stayed in the refrigerator until going into the
cooker; I did not bring them to room temperature first, hoping to get
a better smoke ring as a result.

Selecting
The Smoke Wood

Photo 3

I used oak wine barrel chunks and apple chunks as my smoke wood for
these briskets. If you've visited a winery and can remember the
smell of the cellars where the wine is stored—that's exactly what these oak chunks smelled like.

I wanted to apply
quite a bit of smoke to the meat, so I selected the largest chunks I had to get the equivalent of six fist-sized chunks
of wood, half oak and half apple. I did not soak the chunks before using them.

Using The Minion Method

Photo 4

Since
I would be cooking for over 12 hours, I fired up the WSM using the
Minion Method. By 11:40pm, I
filled the charcoal chamber all the way to the top with
Kingsford charcoal briquettes and distributed 20 hot coals over these
unlit briquettes. I
placed all the smoke wood chunks over the briquettes, assembled the
cooker, and added one gallon of hot water to the water pan. All the
vents were fully open as I waited for the cooker temperature to rise.

After
Midnight, We're Gonna Let It All Hang Out

Photo 5

It
was 60°F outside with a slight drizzle. I was shooting for 250°
before putting the meat in the cooker, but by 12:30am it had only
crept up to 235°F. I decided to go ahead and get started, putting one
brisket on the lower grate and the other on the upper grate, both with the fat side
up.

Much of what looks
like smoke coming out of the cooker in this picture is actually steam,
due to the cold outdoor temperature.

Time
To Catch Some Shuteye

I monitored the
cooker temperature from 12:30-3:30 am, dozing off between
checks. At 1:40am the cooker reached 240°F and I reduced all three
bottom vents to 50 percent. The top vent remained fully open
throughout the entire cooking session. At 3:30am it was clear that the
cooker temp was stable, so I added some hot water to the pan and went
to bed.

My target temperature
range for the WSM was 225-250°F. My plan for the briskets was to cook
them for 1 to 1-1/2 hours per pound (after trimming fat) until the
meat registered an internal temp of 185°F and was fork tender.

Here's how the temperature and
vent
settings went for this 12-3/4 hour cook:

Note that the vent percentages represent
the way I set the vents at the time indicated.

Basting
And Turning The Briskets

Photo 6

Photo 7

I got up at 6:30am to
turn the meat for the first time, and I basted it on all sides with
Martinelli's Premium Apple Juice applied with a spray bottle. I also added hot water
to the pan. The cooker was hanging in there at 245°F. I went
back to bed and slept until 9:30am, then turned and basted the meat
again and replenished the pan with hot water. The cooker was at 228°F,
so I opened the bottom vents a bit.

Photos 6-7 show
how the brisket looked at 6:30am and 9:30am, respectively.

Rejuvenating
The Coals

At
10:30am I stirred the coals gently to rejuvenate them. Actually, it
was more of a gentle tapping on the coals and the charcoal grate to
get some of the ash to fall through the grate, while trying not to
stir up a lot of ash into the air. The cooker temp fluctuated between
225-235°F from 10:30am to 12:30pm.

Just to be sure that
I wouldn't run out of fuel, I lit 20 briquettes in a charcoal chimney
and added them at 12:00pm. The cooker temperature began to come up a
bit and I repeated the tapping of the coals and charcoal grate again at
12:30pm.

Briskets
Ready For A Late Lunch

Photo 8

Photo 9

Photo 10

Photo 11

I
took the first internal temperature reading at 12:30pm and found that
the brisket on the top grate was at 181°F. I left the probe thermometer in the brisket and continued to monitor the internal
temp. I didn't bother to monitor the temp of the brisket on the bottom
grate.

At 1:15pm the cooker
was at 248°F and the brisket registered an internal temp 185°F, so I removed them from the cooker.
I figure this came out pretty close to 1-1/2 hours of cook time per
pound.

Photo 8 shows how
the fuel looked at the end of the cook. The WSM continued to provide
heat over 225°F until 4:30pm, the last time I checked.

Photo 9 shows how
the briskets looked coming out of the cooker. They had that dark
exterior meat that is so characteristic of good brisket. They looked
and smelled absolutely delicious!

I wrapped each
brisket in foil and kept them warm in an ice chest until I was ready
to serve them, as seen in Photo 10. The probe thermometer showed that the
internal temp of the first brisket was 165°F when I cut into it at
2:30pm, and 140°F for the second brisket at 4:30pm.

I separated the flat and point sections
and scraped off all the fat that I could from each section. Photo 11
shows the 1/8-1/4" bright pink smoke ring in the flat section. I sliced the flat
across the grain and chopped the point for sandwiches. Leftovers were
portioned into Foodsaver vacuum bags and frozen for later
enjoyment.

My cooking log noted
the dark exterior color and juicy appearance of the meat. It was very
tender and had good moisture. The smoke flavor was good, but the rub
could have been a little more spicy for my taste. Maybe a little cayenne
would have helped.

Final
Thoughts

Two
things I want to mention before wrapping up this article. First, I
didn't notice any difference in taste or tenderness between the two
briskets. I'm not criticizing the CAB brisket; I just know some people
will wonder if I could tell a difference, and I couldn't. I might have
been disappointed if the CAB had cost more per pound, but it didn't,
and I was happy with the way they both turned out.

The other thing I
learned from doing this all-night cook was that I should have put the
meat in the cooker 3-4 hours before I wanted to go to bed. If I had
put the meat on at 10:00pm, the cooker temp would have stabilized by
1:00am and I could have gone to bed earlier. Of course, the briskets would have finished earlier,
too, but I could have just kept them warm longer until serving time.

I hope
this topic inspires you to try an overnight brisket cook if you haven't
done one. The unique qualities of the Weber Bullet, combined
with the Minion Method for firing the cooker, give you the ability to
cook overnight with confidence, while still getting a decent night's
sleep—something you just can't do with any other bullet-type water
smoker.

Final Thoughts...13
Years Later

It's now January
2014—about 13 years after I cooked these briskets—and I've got a lot
more brisket experience under my belt. Here are a few thoughts as I
look back at this article.

I still can't
tell much difference between USDA Select and USDA Choice or CAB
briskets. Use Choice if you can get it at the right price, but
Select is fine for everyday backyard brisket.

When using the
Minion Method, I no longer wait
for the cooker to come up to temp before adding the meat.
Instead, I put the meat in the cooker immediately after arranging
the lit coals on top of the unlit charcoal. Set the top vent to
100% open and leave it that way throughout the entire cooking process.
Start with all 3 bottom vents 100% open. As the cooker approaches 250°F,
begin to partially close all 3 bottom vents to maintain 225-250°F.
Adjust the bottom vents as needed to maintain this temperature range
throughout the cooking process.

I don't mix
smoke wood chunks into the unlit charcoal anymore. Just place it
on top of the charcoal.

I use less smoke
wood than I used to. Today, I would use the equivalent of 4
fist-sized chunks of a mild smoke wood.

I don't turn and
baste meat much anymore. If I were doing these briskets again, I'd
probably start them fat-side down and leave them that way for the
entire time.

Today, I'd
cook these briskets to a higher internal temp of 190°F. And I
would definitely take the internal temp of the brisket on the bottom
grate to make sure it got up to that same temp.

The Virtual Weber Bullet is your best source for Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker information and discussion on the Web. Popular with competition barbecue teams, the WSM is an easy-to-use water smoker that's equally at home in the backyard. See the WSM and its component parts; get recipes, usage tips, and modification ideas; check-out BBQ-related resources; and discuss the WSM with owners and enthusiasts in our online forums.

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